Archive: July 2008
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Wednesday - July 30, 2008
Campus Watch #49
From today's Campus Watch crime report:
Trinity Parking Garage (1815 Trinity Ave.)
Burglary of Motor Vehicle / Criminal Mischief / Evading: A UT police officer discovered a non-UT subject attempting to gain entrance into a red Dodge truck that was parked on the 3rd level of the garage. When the suspect saw the officer, he took off running. According to several witnesses, the suspect used "cat-like reflexes" and jumped from the 2nd level to the ground level and continued running. With the speed of a gazelle, the officer gave chase and was able to take the suspect into custody. During the investigation, the officer soon learned that the suspect had burglarized a tan Kia and had removed an iPod mini. The suspect was charged with Burglary of Motor Vehicle / Criminal Mischief / Evading after being transported to Central Booking. Occurred on: 7-29-08, at 9:30 AM.
The "cat-like reflexes" thing made me laugh. Several witnesses reported "cat-like relexes"...several of them. Heh heh. And, then the officer was quick like a gazelle. Oh my. Sorry I missed it all.
Tuesday - July 29, 2008
Uninsured drivers
This is not good news: "25.5 percent of 5,012 drivers stopped in Travis County and small portions of nearby Williamson and Hays counties since June 2, didn't have auto insurance." That won't help the "uninsured driver" portion of your premium go down, will it? Years ago, I sat on a compensation committee at work. Many of the folks on that committee argued that our health benefits should count as salary when compared to comparable jobs around town that had no health benefits because "the people in those jobs" (and we were talking about the lowest end of the pay scale) "were having to pay their insurance premiums out of their own pockets." I argued that those people were not, in fact, paying for health insurance. "They're not????" came the incredulous response. Um, no. They're hoping they don't need health insurance and when they end up needing medical care, they go to free clinics and the emergency room. I bet those same committee members would be equally dumbfounded to discover that 1-in-4 cars next to them on the freeway aren't properly insured. I'm not. People just hope they don't get caught. And, for the most part, they don't get caught. While the rest of us pay.
By the way, I do realize that the 1-in-4 number is probably higher than the actual number of uninsured drivers. People who get stopped for some sort of moving violation are probably more likely to be uninsured than folks who go along obeying all the other laws of the road (speed limits and what not). Still. That's a lot of people driving around without insurance. Sigh...
Saturday - July 26, 2008
Gonna miss my Tofu Home Style
Tonight, I had one last meal at...
![[Tien Hong sign]](http://www.joanna.org/pics/tien_hong.jpeg)
Here's the story. Mrs. Schechter and I went to dinner on Thursday. We discussed a few options and then settled on Tien Hong. We drove over, walked in, and promptly saw a sign attached to the podium at the entrance: they're closing up shop. Sunday (as in tomorrow) is their last day. What? My favorite Italian restaurant closed up shop about a month ago and now this? Not fair. So, we had a nice dinner and I called Jennie on my way home. She didn't answer but called me later. I gave her the bad news. My favorite Chinese restaurant is also her favorite Chinese restaurant. So we went there for dinner tonight. One last order of Crab Rangoon. One last order of Shrimp Lo Mein for her and one last order of Tofu Home Style (best stuff in the world) for me and one of Moo Shu Pork as well. I came home and set my leftovers up for 3 lunches over the course of the week. We got an extra order of Shrimp Lo Mein for Jennie. I'm guessing she'll be eating that for lunch this week as well. Or maybe dinner. I don't think she likes dealing with the microwave at work.
So sad. At least I saw the sign in time to have that one last meal. Unlike the Italian place. Esther and I decided to grab lunch there about three weeks ago. As I parked, I noticed that the landscaping had been pulled up. And, that the hand-painted sign that stood in the middle of the barren landscaping area was gone. I thought they were just putting in something new. But, as we got to the door, I noticed signs of ongoing construction projects in the patio area and commented as I pushed the door open that I hoped they were open. Well, the door was open. But, the building was undergoing major renovations. There was a guy on a ladder working on a light fixture or something. Someone else was working over near the bar area. They looked startled. Less so than Esther and I, no doubt. We backed out and looked at the side of the building. One sign was still there but another was gone. The next week when I drove by, that sign was gone too. I called their number. No answer. I let it ring 10 times or so. No news. They say that no news is good news. But, not in this case. Sigh. I didn't know the last meal I ate there (probably two weeks earlier) was the last meal I'd get to eat there. That seems so wrong. What did I eat that day? The pasta special? Probably. Anyway, I suggested we drive by this past Wednesday and see if anything new was in the spot. Some sort of ice house. We stopped in. They've got lots of kinks to work out. My sandwich was good but it took 'em 30 minutes to make a BLTA, no T (bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado...hold the tomato). 30 minutes. Esther's sandwich was ready in about 10 minutes. But, the toast it was on was burnt. And, the peppers had no oomph. Same story on the cole slaw. We won't be back. Double sigh.
I took a photo of the Tien Hong sign as we left this evening. Something by which to remember the restaurant. The owners are retiring. No plans to open up in a new location. They opened the restaurant in '84. I was living in Austin then and don't remember a time that Tien Hong wasn't here. But, I was still in school and rarely ventured far from the 40 Acres in '84. I probably didn't discover the restaurant 'til some time in '86 or so. Wow. I'm gonna miss it.
Thursday - July 17, 2008
Vote for Jenny
Hey, there! If you're one of the 8 people that read this page from time to time, do me a favor: go vote for Jenny. I'm talking about Jenny Reynolds. Jenny wants to play at the ACL Fest this year and if she gets enough votes, she'll get to play. You can vote once a day. So, get cracking. If you want some good music, make sure you check out her new CD. It's great. The old CDs are good, too. Don't get me wrong. But the new one? Wow. Buy a copy. Or two.
Thursday - July 10, 2008
RIP
RIP, Joseph. 48 years old. Some things just suck.